This invention relates generally to prefabricated building structures, and more particularly to those involving multiple units.
Prior art building units have indicated a trend toward maximum construction completed in the factory, and a minimum at the erection site. Whole rooms can sometimes be completely finished and sealed off for transportation to the site. An example of the degree of completion to be encountered can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,750,366 issued Aug. 7, 1973 to Rich et al. The units shown even include their own heating and cooling systems, and have external plumbing connections so the interior of the unit need never be entered prior to occupancy.
This approach saves on final cleanup costs, but becomes a disadvantage once the unit is permanently tied in to the building structure. If plumbing connections are made readily accessible from outside the unit before completion of the building, they will probably be fairly inaccessible from inside the unit after the structure is sealed up. Any future changes for upgrading or conversion to another use become as difficult as if the unit had not been prefabricated.
The lifting crane capacity must also be sufficient to position the entire unit at once. In case of fire or other damage, repairs must be made in the most expensive manner, on the site.
A primary object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide means for facilitating upgrading of a prefabricated building cubicle.
Another object is to allow for easier conversion of a cubicle to another use.
Still another object of my invention is to reduce the work involved in repairing fire damaged units.
A further object is to improve the accessibility of plumbing areas for major repairs or removal of pipes.
A still further object is to allow the use of smaller lifting cranes for positioning prefabricated cubicles in multi-story buildings.